Tears on My Wedding Day
by TWIantoJones
Summary: Gwen was happy to marry Rhys but she wanted to be with Jack more. After Ianto cuts in on her dance with Jack at her wedding reception she knows she has to let Jack go.


Tears on My Wedding Day

Rating: Teen

Disclaimer: Author profile

Summary: Gwen was happy to marry Rhys but she wanted to be with Jack more. After Ianto cuts in on her dance with Jack at her wedding reception she knows she has to let Jack go.

Notes: A short piece about Gwen's feeling after her wedding. A One-shot, no sequel planned. See, told ya all I'm not a Gwen-hater. Haha!

Review here or at twiantojones yahoo . com (no spaces)

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She leaned into Rhys as they danced. Across the room she could see Ianto pressing himself as close as humanly possible to Jack. To his lover.

God that hurt.

She knew that if she had spoken up sooner, when he had first returned from his time with the Doctor (which he had still never told her about, not in detail at least) Jack would have asked her and not Ianto out. If she hadn't rubbed her engagement to Rhys into Jack's face then today would have been her wedding to Jack. Instead she had been too angry at his leaving that she had been spiteful. So instead of marrying the man of her dreams she was Mrs. Rhys Williams.

And Jack was dancing with Ianto Jones.

Ianto.

She didn't hate him; she couldn't. He was so loyal and brave. He had proven himself worthy of Torchwood while Jack was away. In fact he had approached her and comforted _her_ when she had cried. Considering that he had been sharing the Captain's bed it should have been him who had been comforted. However he was not selfish in that respect. He had known even then that there was something between Gwen and Jack and yet he had made himself indispensable to her. He had not allowed jealously to come between their friendship.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that he was exhausted from hunting the Nostrovite (not to mention he'd had a few drinks by this point) he probably wouldn't have had the courage to make such a public claim on Jack.

And Jack… well he had looked at her longingly but then had focused on the young man in his arms. Even now as she watched them dance she could see his attention had not wavered from his partner. She watched as he dipped his head and pressed a tender kiss against the other man's neck. Ianto shivered and buried his face against Jack's neck and tightened his arms around him.

Gwen wanted to go over there and interrupt before it got too intimate. She wanted to dance with Jack again. She wanted him to tell her that he loved her too. She wanted him to give her a reason to leave Rhys.

Jack gently nudged Ianto's face up and Gwen could see the tears on the young man's cheeks. Ianto, face burning with humiliation, tried to step away from Jack. The expression on his face burned itself into her mind: he knew, he KNEW. He knew that Jack loved her. Ianto knew that he was second place. He loved Jack but knew that he was not what the other man wanted. He hadn't cut in on them to be spiteful, he had cut in so that he could say goodbye. This was his way of having one last happy memory before letting go.

Gwen wanted to cry. She started to pull away from Rhys to go to them. She needed to make it better. If she had never met Jack then this would not have happened. She knew that it was because of her that Ianto was hurt. She didn't like that she had caused someone, especially someone so innocent in love, to be in pain.

The look on Jack's face, the determination in his eyes, stopped her from moving.

Jack reached out and grasped Ianto's wrist. He pulled his lover back to him and held the trembling body close. One hand rested on Ianto's neck while he wrapped his arm tightly around the slender waist. He pressed his face against Ianto's neck and she could see his mouth moving. He whispered reassuring words and rubbed gently with his hands.

The song ended. Ianto slowly pulled away but Jack held his hand. He lifted it to his lips and kissed it, smiling as he did. Ianto blushed and nodded towards the table they had claimed earlier. Jack's smile widened and he nodded. His mouth moved but she couldn't make out the words.

Ianto headed for the refreshments while Jack headed for the table. She quickly kissed Rhys and said she needed to sit down, would he get her a drink? She moved swiftly to the table and touched Jack's shoulder.

"Is he okay?"

Jack looked up and smiled. "Not quite, but he's going to be." He stood and pulled out a chair for her before sitting back down. "We're going to take a little break, just a few days, so he can sort himself out."

"I'm so sorry." She reached for his hand and then pulled her own back.

"Don't be. It's my fault." He looked over at Ianto who was chatting with Rhys, a soft smile came onto his face. "I let myself care about you right away. I didn't even notice that I had started to care for him as well. I wasn't lying when I said I came back for him, nor you. I came back for both of you as well as the others." He leaned back and sighed. "I came so close today to asking you to run away with me. Then he cut in. Dammit, he was trying to say goodbye, Gwen. He was going to let me go and then he was going to leave. Leave Torchwood and me."

"I saw him cry," she whispered. "But he's… staying?" Please say yes.

"Yeah, he's staying." Jack's face had softened, the smile was back. It was a very intimate smile.

Gwen smiled at him. "I'm glad that he cut in then. If he had left, I don't think I could have stayed myself."

They looked at each other. They knew it was time to let go of the other. For Ianto. For Rhys. For themselves.

As the others joined them, Ianto bearing drinks, Gwen smiled as she realized that yes, there had been tears on her wedding day. But those tears she knew were going to lead to something beautiful. She took her husband's hand and made a promise to herself. Yes, she loved Jack, but she needed Rhys. She promised herself that she would love him forever.

There were no more tears shed on her wedding day.

End


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